This weblog documents my (mis)adventures in attempting to build my own R2D2.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Dome v1.1

Today was the big day, the day to attach my repainted dome panels!

Like the last time I did this, I photographed the location of the tape as I attached each panel, so I'll have a good idea of where I need to lift the panels should they need to come off again in the future. (Hopefully no time soon.)

Again, I used 3M Very High Bond 5-mil tape to attach most of the panels. I placed two layers of tape on the upper half of each location where the pie panels go, to help raise them. My inner and outer domes don't quite meet up toward the top, so this helps to keep the pie panels even with the surface of the outer dome.

I went through quite a bit of tape by the time I was done, but I still have plenty left.

I taped down all the panels except for the panel that goes around the front logics, the "window frame" panel on the side, and the tiny round piece at the very top. For those, I used/will use silicone. I haven't installed the front logic panel yet, it looks like I will need to lightly file it, in order to get it to fit around the aluminum logic surrounds. I'll deal with that shortly.

Next, it was time to get the electronics back in the dome.

What a mess, but I managed to get it all cleaned up and working on the first try.

The dome looks so much better with the new paint job. The old paint job was dull and inconsistent. This turned out much better.

R2 in his favorite pose, sporting dome version 1.1, which includes the new red LED for the front PSI. He's happy to have his head back.